Health Textbooks In Tex. Attacked From Both Sides

Drawing criticism from all sides, the Texas state board of education
has ordered publishers to make more than 300 changes in five newly
adopted high school health textbooks.

The revisions, which could have implications for the textbook market
nationwide, are aimed primarily at putting greater emphasis on
abstinence as a means of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and
teenage pregnancies.

The changes also call for deleting numbers for AIDS hot lines,
removing some illustrations of human sexual organs, and revising
discussions of assisted suicide and homosexuality.

Health and family-planning advocates in the state accused the board
of succumbing to political pressure from conservative Christian groups.
The advocates warned that the changes would limit teenagers' access to
vital health information.

But groups that had sought the changes said they still were not
satisfied. They plan to bring their battle to the legislature, which
will decide next year whether to provide the $7.5 million needed to pay
for the books.

"The media here say we didn't satisfy either extreme,'' said Will
Davis, the board's vice chairman. "I feel like that's a victory.''

"We called for books that were very explicit, very fact-based, and
very open, and the publishers responded properly,'' he said.

Texas and California are the largest of the 22 states that adopt
textbooks at the state level. Textbooks sold in those states are
generally sold nationwide.

But Joe Bill Watkins, the lawyer who represented the publishers,
said there were so many changes they may consider creating a separate
edition for Texas.

Focus on Condoms Deplored

Although the new textbooks are not scheduled to be used in
classrooms until 1995, controversy over them began last year, when
state textbook-review panels began to hold hearings on the books.

"I felt like they promoted a homosexual lifestyle in the books, and
we don't need to be doing that,'' said Monte Hasie, a member of the
state board who initially opposed the books outright, but later lobbied
for changes.

"I also think they promoted a condom-based sex education that is
basically saying, 'If you use a condom, sex is all right,''' he
said.

The board eventually asked the state education department to
consider more than 1,000 revisions or deletions to the books. Most of
those came from Mr. Hasie and two other board members known for their
conservative views.

They wanted, for example, to delete illustrations of breast and
testicular self-examinations and to remove references to homosexuality
among teenagers.

From that list, Commissioner of Education Lionel R. Meno reviewed
between 500 and 600 suggestions and formally recommended to the board
that it take some action on most of them.

Mr. Meno favored, for example, removing from student editions
nongovernmental hot-line numbers for information on sexually
transmitted diseases. And he suggested deleting some illustrations,
such as one that depicted a condom being placed on an erect penis, and
replacing others with less explicit line drawings.

At its meeting this month, the board adopted more than 300 of the
commissioner's recommendations. Mr. Davis said the changes fell under
five broad areas: "sexuality; sexually transmitted diseases; hot-line
numbers to nongovernmental entities; assisted suicide; and behaviors
representing violations of state laws, such as sodomy or statutory
rape.''

Approving or Editing?

The changes "took out a lot of materials that we think are relevant
to the health, safety, and well-being of Texas children,'' said Peggy
Romberg, the executive director of Texas Family Planning
Association.

Ms. Romberg pointed out, for example, that one of the books said
condoms were successful between 88 percent and 98 percent of the
time--statistics cited by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The board opted to include only the lower figure.

Jeffrey Fisher, the executive director of the American Family
Association of Texas, said his group has lingering concerns because
some of the books invite debate on issues such as children divorcing
parents, needle-exchange programs, and legalizing marijuana.

Both sides agree, though, on one point: The board "edited'' the
books, rather than simply approve or disapprove them.

In that regard, Mr. Fisher said, the board may have overstepped its
statutory authority. His group is exploring whether it can legally
challenge the adoption.

"I don't think there's any question we will fight this in the
legislature,'' he added.

Implications Uncertain

The five publishers in the thick of the controversy--Holt, Rinehart,
and Winston; D.C. Heath; Glencoe; Prentice Hall; and West Educational
Publishers--are still debating their next move.

"The real implications of it are sort of unknown right now,'' said
William Talkington, the president of Holt, Rinehart. The options for
his company, he said, include withdrawing from the adoption, producing
a separate edition for Texas, or trying to sell the same edition
elsewhere.

Other publishers, such as D.C. Heath, said they plan to stay in the
process.

"This has created a lot of uncertainty about when this might end,''
Mr. Watkins said. "If some of these critics had their way, there would
be no mention of some of these issues at all.''

Vol. 13, Issue 22

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